The School of 5 superheroes are designed to teach kids around the world about the importance of washing their hands -- a key to preventing deaths. Craig Yoe will discuss the project in a panel Saturday. (Lifebuoy)

Many of the 125,000-plus expected for this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego will arrive with lists of things they want to get — comics, toys, T-shirts, a seat in Hall H (good luck, brave souls) — but many also will give to charitable causes.

Whether it’s the 1st Amendment, comics creators in need, or life itself, the pop-culture fan gathering offers plenty of opportunities to help support social and health initiatives. After exploring Comic-Con’s charitable side in a story last year, Hero Complex decided to put together a day-by-day listing of charity-related events ahead of this year’s convention. Take a look below.

9 a.m. to 6 p.m.: Comic-Con’s annual Robert A. Heinlein Blood Drive has a new location (but is still sponsored by HBO’s “True Blood,” which offers a T-shirt, yes, but more important, bandages and water bottles). Donors are also entered into daily drawings for prizes, courtesy of Comic-Con exhibitors, with winners listed at 6:30 p.m. daily (4 p.m. Sunday) at the drive’s sign-up booth in the Sails Pavilion. You can schedule an appointment for Thursday now. After donating, participants can catch a shuttle back to the convention center. (Manchester Grand Hyatt, 1 Market Place, in the America’s Cup, Regatta and Nautical rooms on the fourth floor of the tower closest to the convention center)

9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.: The Hero Initiative is the exclusive CGC Signature Series facilitator at Comic-Con for 17 comics creators, including “Watchmen” artist Dave Gibbons, “X-Factor” greats Louise and Walter Simonson, and “Sex Criminals” artist Chip Zdarsky. Fans can drop off their books at the CGC booth to be signed, authenticated, graded, certified, encapsulated in the company’s patented comics holder, and shipped back to them. The service is $38 plus shipping ($10 each for additional signatures on an issue). The cutoff is Friday at 5 p.m. for all artists except Zdarsky, whose cutoff is Thursday at 5 p.m. Again — that’s at the CGC booth, not the Hero Initiative booth. (Booth 901)

9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.: Also, the Hero Initiative will be selling a limited-to-500 hardcover edition of the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide with an exclusive cover of Wolverine, Hulk and Wendigo drawn by Herb Trimpe, who drew Wolverine’s first appearance, with inks by Tom Palmer and colors by Laura Martin, at its own booth for $35. Ken Lashley (“Excalibur”) will be at the booth from 1 to 2:30 p.m. (Booth 5003)

7 to 9:30 p.m: The Hero Initiative will be raffling off Friday lunches with Marvel Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada and comics writer-artist Dan Jurgens (“The Death of Superman,” “Futures End”) during Hero Complex’s very own humbly named San Diego Spectacular. Raffle tickets are $5 each; fans can buy as many as they want, and all proceeds benefit Hero Initiative, which helps comics creators in need. Winners have to be at the party to buy tickets but don’t have to hang around for the drawing; they’ll be notified. The party’s RSVP list is full, but a standby line will open at 6:30 p.m. (Hotel Solamar, 435 6th Ave.)

The CBLDF throws its party Thursday night. (CBLDF)

8 to 11 p.m. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund’s Comic-Con Welcome Party puts fans in the presence of talent from co-sponsor Image Comics, including the best-selling, award-winning “Saga” team of Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, Scott Snyder (upcoming “Wytches”), Nick Dragotta (“East of West”), John Layman (“Chew”) and Paul Pope (“Monsters & Titans: Battling Boy on Tour). They can also preview the art in the charity’s auction (see Saturday listing). The first 200 fans get a gift bag with items from Image and the CBLDF. Admission is free for CBLDF members, with a suggested donation at the door of $10 to $20 for others. (Westgate Hotel, 1055 2nd Ave., San Diego)

7:30 p.m. Craig Yoe’s super-heroic School of 5 — leader Sparkle, master of bubbles Hairyback and germ-fighting triplets Biff, Bam and Pow — are out to save real lives. Children die every year from diarrhea-related diseases that they contract from dirty hands, and the adventures of the Eisner Award winner’s hygiene-promoting team are designed to help teach kids and their families in more than 20 countries about the importance of washing with soap and water. The program includes comics, puzzles, demonstrations and more, and is conducted in nations including Kenya, India, Ghana, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Brazil and China via a partnership involving Unilever (which makes Lifebuoy health soap) and local governments. Yoe and Stacie June Sheldon, Lifebuoy Social Mission program manager, will discuss the effort during the Comic-Con panel “Superheroes Are Saving Lives — for Real.” (Room 26 AB)

7:30 p.m. The CBLDF’s Live Art Auction in the Hilton San Diego Bayfront’s Sapphire Ballroom EF includes pieces donated by artists including Jeff Lemire (“Sweet Tooth”), Chris Burnham (“Batman, Inc.”), Emma Rios (“Pretty Deadly”), Francesco Francavilla (“Afterlife With Archie”), Gabriel Ba (“Umbrella Academy”) and Fabio Moon (“Casanova”). It is open to people regardless of whether they have Comic-Con badges, and there is remote bidding available. (Hilton San Diego Bayfront, 1 Park Blvd., in Sapphire Ballroom EF)

[Update, 9:42 p.m. July 24: This post has been updated to reflect a change in the name of the School of 5 panel and to remove references to UNICEF and Save the Children as partners in the effort. Unilever said it did not have authorization to use those organizations’ names.]